Joseph Watmough is recognized by many as the “grand old
man” of Brown swimming. Coaching at Brown from 1944 through
1972, Watmough won four New England championships – 1950,
1951, 1958, and 1961 – and produced a host of All-American,
All-East, and All-Ivy swimmers. When Brown had a losing season in
1964-65 it was big news because the Bruins hadn’t been below
.500 in 11 years. Joe Watmough accomplished all of this with a
medieval facility that precluded the recruitment of many of the top
high school and prep school swimmers. What the record can never
show is the contribution Watmough made to a succession of Brown men
who swam for him over that 28-year stretch. The genial Watmough was
a shrewd coach, approaching each meet like a game of chess,
sacrificing a little in one area to gain the needed advantage on
another. His one-time boss, former Athletic Director Paul F.
Mackesey, describes Watmough as “one of the great master
technicians of swimming.” The former Olneyville Boys Club
director made a life beyond a living during his Brown years. For
Joe Watmough, there was a never a time clock on the
wall.